Liberals promise national food policy
Plan would boost farmers markets, improve food labels
Last Updated: Monday, April 26, 2010 | 2:53 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he would put more Canadian food on Canadian tables if he became prime minister.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff talks to a farmer in Holland Landing, Ont., north of Toronto, on Monday. (Maria Babbage/Canadian Press) The Opposition leader says he'd introduce a national food policy that would improve food safety, help struggling farmers and promote healthy eating.
The plan unveiled Monday at Holland Landing in the Holland Marsh — one of Ontario's most fertile agricultural stretches, located just north of Toronto — would include $50 million to improve food inspections and ensure imported foods meet domestic standards.
The Liberals say they would also create an $80-million fund to promote farmers markets and local food and a $40-million program to help 250,000 low-income children get healthy food.
Ignatieff says he'd also improve food labelling and create tough standards on trans fats.
He says the Liberals would pay for the program by freezing corporate income taxes, instead of cutting $6 billion a year in corporate taxes as the Conservatives plan.
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